"Congrats teammate!" Keira exclaimed when Owen and I reached my locker at lunch time. Tyler, Landon, Miles and Rosco were chatting together behind her.
"For real?" I asked and she nodded making her high ponytail jump behind her head. "Cool!" And I meant it. That was probably the first real good news I'd received since... Well, since forever.
"Ready?" Landon asked us so I nodded and followed them to the lunchroom.
Tyler fell back next to me and took my hand, making my heart beat furiously inside my chest. It was the second time now and in between that and my wearing his hoodie, people would soon be wondering what was going on.
"Aren't you scared people will think we're together?" I murmured so that only he could hear.
He laughed again.
"That's the whole point, Poppy. I want them to know you're mine..." He replied not so quietly and I cringed when I saw the looks it got us.
He laughed some more when he saw my embarrassment so I narrowed my eyes at him.
But more than embarrassed, I was confused, really. I knew he'd already told me that growing up he thought I was the ideal girl after he saw me climbing up trees in cute dresses, but surely it wasn't enough to maintain an interest throughout high school.
"Has your Dad put you up to this or something?" I asked gesturing between the two of us. "Or is it because you feel you owe me because of Leo?"
His face fell slightly at my question.
"Stop, Poppy." He muttered softly.
"Stop what?" I asked him with furrowed eyebrows.
"Stop pushing me away..." He whispered just as we reached the end of the queue.
I asked for some stir-fried veggies with white rice and chicken, a fruit salad and a bottle of water, and handed my card to the lunch lady before following Landon to their usual table.
I was surprised to see that my announcer didn't manifest himself today and when I saw him at a table near the center, I sent him a questioning glance but he only lowered his head, looking ashamed.
"What's wrong with alert-boy?" I asked Landon who'd just witnessed the scene.
"You mean Peter Brooke?" He said loudly enough for all to hear and I cringed. "He must have heard that you were legacy..." He went on. "And now he's worried you're going to tell his Dad..."
The boy visibly shrank in his chair and feeling totally ill at ease now, I pulled on Landon's blazer's sleeve and dragged him to our table.
"That was really unnecessary!" I hissed once we were seated.
"The Dude's been humiliating you every single day since school started, Poppy!" He yell-whispered. "He deserved much worse!"
"Oh come on, Grassi, don't tell me you're one of those an eye for an eye's defenders?!" I exclaimed. "I truly thought he was funny." I added. "I mean, I'd have understood your gesture if I'd been miserable because of him but you knew it wasn't the case..." I finished with a deep frown.
"You know that's the only thing I'm still undecided when you're concerned, Poppy..." He interjected. "How could you find him funny? Did you actually listen to the words he used to describe you, to what he warned people against you for?"
"Landon. He doesn't know me. So why would his insults affect me?!" I shot back. "Now when your best friend here starts showing his claws, that's slightly different because he does know quite a bit about me... See the difference?" I went on. "Why would I get obfuscated when people accuse me of sleeping with all of you guys, of having sucked my way to my first proper car, or of being a trashy gold-digger?"
"Is that what people have been saying?" Keira asked with a slight frown.
"Among other things, yes, but so what?!" I replied with cocked eyebrows. "Life's complicated enough as it is without letting strangers affect my days..."
Neither Landon nor Keira had anything to answer to that so I started eating.
"We're playing at your old school, tonight..." Rosco broke the awkward silence that had followed my outburst a couple of minutes later. "Have you decided on who you were going to cheer?" He teased me and I felt Tyler stiffen next to me.
"Well, I'm not going to promise that I'll be cheering for you because, let's be honest, I don't think I'll ever be ready to shout "Go Penguins!" I answered with a huge grin on my face.
Keira chuckled at that, the boys groaned.
"But..." I started again, "Even though I still don't feel like I belong, I'll clap and jump and whatever else for you guys..."
"I guess we can forget about that little slip of yours, then..." Rosco relented with a smile.
"You mean about a penguin being your mascot?" I questioned innocently.
"Eat Martins!" Landon fake-ordered.
"Yes, Sir!" I mock-saluted him and dug back in my bowl.
"Are you going to do something about what those f*ckers did to our school?!" From her exasperated tone, I gathered that Lana had probably been waiting for her friends to bring up the subject since we'd sat down.
"Everything's back to normal..." Owen muttered and it was the first time I heard his voice since Wednesday. "They'd left the letters and the screws taped to them behind the bushes, and the paint they used was water-based so Mr. Higgins didn't even have to rub to remove it..."
I frowned when Jared's Graffiti project came into my mind at his words. We'd been in the same Art class and he'd shown me how to transform basic bold letters into a cool graffiti. He'd got an A+ and thanks to his help I'd managed a B+.
What didn't make sense was why the black-haired boy, who'd never shown any interest in the war, would execute what was certainly the most epic prank in the history of Brading and Rochester rivalry.
I had trouble visualizing the skater-boy let anyone threaten him into doing something like that.
"I thought it actually looked good for a prank..." Keira commented. "If you ignore the message, of course... But come on! Rich pricks with those prick-shaped golden balloons..."
"Why were they so neat about it?" Macy asked clearly confused.
"They may have been scared of being caught on cameras so thought we'd be more lenient if the damages were reversible..." Keira offered.
"They're normally much more aggressive..." Rosco cut in, looking deep in thought. "We know it's not you obviously..." He then said to me and Tyler stiffened again. "But maybe you're still in contact with your old friends..."
"I'm not but I don't think it's fair of you to ask me to help you either." I stated firmly. "I've always made sure to stay away from our towns' rivalry, and even if I did hear things over the years, there's absolutely no way, I'd share..." I paused. "Just like I wouldn't give them anything on you if they asked..."
Rosco nodded but I could tell that he'd have liked a different answer.
"Adams..." Tyler growled.
Rosco put his hands up in a peaceful gesture.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Double PE was fun. We played basketball with the boys and my team – which was also Owen's team – ended up winning the mini tournament Mr. Ericks had organized.
We finished five minutes early to go to the pep rally the cheerleaders and the dance team had Mr. Vincent authorize after last night's attack to the school. So after taking a quick shower, we all headed to the assembly hall. Landon and Tyler were waiting for Owen and I by the door and Tyler's sapphire eyes lit up when they saw me walk up to him.
"You're sitting at the front with us..." He took my hand and started leading me inside the noisy room.
"No, come on, Tyler..." I argued. "I'll stay at the back with Landon or Keira..."
He was clearly not pleased with my reaction but simply nodded and threw a glance Landon's way. The grey-eyes boy immediately wrapped an arm around my shoulders.
"Don't worry, Ty. Your girl's safe." He said and winked at his best friend.
Tyler then did something so unexpected that it took me almost a minute to process it afterwards. He leaned down and kissed my cheek quickly before walking to the front with Owen.
When I lifted my hand to the still tingling spot a couple of seconds later, Landon laughed at me.
"Here you are, guys!" Keira exclaimed before plopping next to Landon. "I was looking for you..."
"We were just here..." Landon teased her and the look they shared right then left me wide-eyed. It was so intimate, so full of love that the two of them were either secretly together or about to take the step.
I smiled at what a cute couple they'd make. Not only were they both model-like gorgeous but they shared the same passion for soccer and strangely enough they had both been nothing but welcoming and supportive of me since my arrival.
The pep rally ended up being a free Brading lashing tribune since all the routines the cheerleaders performed were accompanied by overly aggressive lyrics that had no room in a school assembly.
My favorite by far was, WHO'S GONNA EAT DUST TONIGHT? WHITETRASH BRADING, THAT'S WHO! WE WON'T LET THE UNDERWORLD UNPUNISHED.
Mr. Vincent did look rather pale by the end of the routines, probably worried of what parents would say if they ever found out about those tribal chants. Ten minutes before the end of class, he took the microphone and made a short speech reminding students of how important it was for them to maintain the school's pristine reputation.
Don't start a general fight at Brading stadium tonight! was the message he was really trying to convey but I wasn't so sure the students around me understood it that way.
"What's on your mind?" Landon whispered so that nobody would hear.
"He's usually better at conveying his ideas..." I answered with a small shrug.
"That was a very shitty speech, indeed..." He agreed. "But the students are so angry after your old mates that anything more direct would have got him booed..."
"Which in turn, would probably have got him fired if parents had heard about it..." I finished for him.
"Exactly..."He said, cocking his head to the side.
"How lame was Vincent's speech!" Owen said to Landon and Keira when he and Tyler met us at our lockers five minutes later.
"He might as well have instructed you to kill them all..." Keira commented blankly. "What's your Coach's take on the artist's ephemeral masterpiece?" She then asked. "Is he sending you on the warpath?"
I didn't really want to listen to their answer. In fact, the simple idea of going back to Brading tonight made me feel queasy so as soon as I'd taken the books I'd need during the weekend, I left them there to discuss and headed outside.
"Hey, what's up?" Tyler stopped me just as I was about to get to the car park. When I didn't answer he studied me a long moment before sighing. He pushed a loose strand of hair away from my face. "Talk to me, please..." He muttered.
"I..." I blew out a big breath of air. "I hate arguments and this stupid rivalry's always pissed me off to be honest. When I said at lunch that I'd always stayed away from it, I meant it but..." I paused, unsure of how to proceed. "I have a bad feeling this time..."
"You mean with the game tonight and Owen and I on the team?" He muttered so nobody would hear him.
"Not only..." I said with my bottom lip stuck between my teeth nervously.
"Tell me..." He muttered again his cerulean eyes pleading.
For a second I considered telling him that I thought I knew who'd done it but changed my mind at the last second.
I did not want to get involved.
I shook my head slowly. "I can't, I'm sorry..."
He nodded. "I understand..." He paused. "You're still coming to the game, right?" If I'd thought of finding a lame excuse not to go before, there was no way I could not go after the puppy look he was giving me.
I groaned. "Yeah, ok..."
"Awesome!" He muttered with a proud smile and for the second time that day he leaned toward me and kissed me on the cheek quickly before heading back inside and leaving me half-dizzy from the sweetness of the small gesture.
Someone started doing kissy noises behind me. I turned around and narrowed my eyes at Leo and Nate who were clearly laughing at me.
"Tyler and Poppy sitting in a tree, K.I.S.S.I.N.G. First comes love. Then comes marriage..."
"Nate, I swear..." I hissed, making both boys burst into a fit of laughter.
"How do you want to proceed for tonight, guys?" Keira, who'd come out with Landon, asked us but she didn't give us the time to answer. "The game's at six in Brading..." She added. "How about we go for a waffle, go get change and meet up again to go to the game?"
"Did she say waffle?" Leo said excitedly swaying his butt like a duck.
"I believe she did, Man, yeah..." Nate answered, doing the same silly dance and high-fiving Leo.
I rolled my eyes at their antics. Keira and Landon burst out laughing.
"I take it you had a good day?" I asked them with a raised eyebrow.
"We're on the football team..." Leo replied in a singsong voice still doing his duck dance.
"We've reached near hero status..." Nate finished for him.
I placed my hand on either side of Leo's head and grimaced, before doing the same with Nate.
"I'm afraid we're going to have to cancel our plans for tonight..." I told them with a stern voice, making them frown. "I think you've both caught that terrible virus they talked about on the radio this morning..." I added very seriously. "We should go to the doctor at once, in fact..." I pretended to be really worried and I could tell the boys were beginning to panic. I squatted in front of Nate and felt his ankles quickly before grimacing and did the same to Leo who was now trembling slightly.
Behind me, Keira and Landon had grown quiet, probably wondering what the hell I was doing.
"Wh-what's it called?" Leo finally found the courage to ask.
"The Big-headed Syndrome..." I answered before doing their dance around them.
"What?!" They both exclaimed.
"You heard me, guys!" I told them off, now. "If you want to behave like conceited jerks now that you've made the team, stay the heck away from me because there's nothing I hate more than people thinking they are better than everyone." I paused to catch my breath. "Prove yourself on the field, get those jerseys wet, share what you know with beginners, support weaker players so they improve..." I listed. "Those are the qualities I'll expect from you, guys... And more importantly, those are the only qualities that will make people respect you..." I felt really bad when I saw their crestfallen faces but hearing Nate talking about his "near hero status" had angered me so much that I couldn't not say something.
"Wow..." I heard Keira mutter behind me. "Hm... So no waffle then?" She asked.
"It depends on the two heroes in front of you..." I answered still angry.
"We're just happy to be on the team, Poppy..." Leo muttered, his big blue eyes glistening with unshed tears.
"There's a difference between being happy and showing off, Leo, that's all I'm saying." I argued. "Besides, I didn't ask you to stop, just to stay the hell away from me if that's the kind of person you want to become..."
"I choose to keep hanging with you, then, Poppy..." He said in a small voice.
"I'm sorry, Pops..." Nate croaked.
"Wow..." Keira repeated again. Landon remained quiet this time.
"So waffles or not waffles?" I asked swaying my butt exaggeratedly to lighten up the mood.
"You have to admit that our choreography is amazing, though, Poppy..." Leo teased me.
"It's ridiculously funny, I'll give it to you..." I relented.
Landon surprised me when he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and said, "We'll meet you at the Waffles' House, ok?"
I nodded and motioned for the boys to follow me to the car.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I'd tried to pretend to have forgotten Tyler's hoodie when we'd got back to the chalet to change but Landon had been adamant that I had to wear it.
I'd finally accepted, unwilling to make everybody late to the game but with each new steps I took, the knot that had formed in my throat when Landon had parked in my old school's car park seemed to grow bigger until I had trouble breathing normally.
It wasn't so much the dirty looks I kept getting, it was more the comments that went with them.
"What a hypocrite!", "Remember when she used to pretend that she didn't want to take side... It certainly didn't take her long to suck the right dick and go up the Rich Pricks social ladder...", "Look at her surrounded by two members of the Royal court wearing their King's clothes... I've always known her nice girl attitude was just an act..." "Too rich to even say Hi, now?" I turned to look who'd asked that one and barely recognized a senior I'd never talked to before.
I sighed out of relief when Landon and Keira finally sat down.
"You're ok?" Nate asked me. I nodded and took a drink from the tall soda Landon had got for me at the concession stands on our way up the bleachers. The knot in my throat loosened slightly.
"Poppy, is that you?" I'd have recognized Eileen's voice everywhere.
"Hi, Eileen, how are you doing?" I muttered.
"I...Hmm... I'm fine..." She kept throwing glances Landon and Keira's way.
"Oh sorry!" I exclaimed. "Guys, this is Eileen an old friend of mine. Eileen this is Keira and this is Landon." Her mouth kept opening and closing but no sound was coming out.
"We've missed you, you know..." She finally said and I huffed.
"I seriously doubt that."
She sighed as if she was full of regrets.
"Kelly broke up with Steph that very evening..." Oh... "And Tom's just been more miserable than ever..." She added and I shrugged.
"Tom's hurt me too much for me to feel for him..." I admitted with a grimace.
"People started talking after your departure..." She began but stopped abruptly as if unsure she should tell me whatever she was about to say. "They said Tom had been forced to seduce you and then to dump you because he'd slept with..." She paused and sent a glance at Landon and Keira. "Owen's girlfriend" she then whispered quickly. It would have been funny if I'd digested that news, but it was still too painful to laugh about.
"Owen's fessed up about everything, Eileen, so I know..." Despite all my efforts, my voice trembled a bit at the end and Landon bumped his knee into mine in a way that told me that he was there if I needed him.
"Oh..." She sounded surprised by that but the players entered the field and the crowd went wild in the bleachers. "I'll come back after the game..." She said before running down the stairs.